Gang member pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of woman found under Newport bridge

A Santa Ana gang member charged in the slaying of a woman whose body was found under a bridge near Newport Bay two years ago pleaded guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter.

Jaime Prieto Rocha, 42, who went by the street name “Slimmer,” was accused of playing a role in the death of Nancy Hammour, 28, of Santa Ana. Her body was found Labor Day morning in 2013 under a bridge near East Coast Highway and Bayside Drive in Newport Beach.

During a hearing Friday in Orange County Superior Court, Rocha, who worked as a forklift operator, also was charged with the attempted murder of another woman. He admitted to a sentencing enhancement of gang activity and is expected to return to court Oct. 30 for a sentencing hearing.

Irvin Tellez, 27, who also has been charged with murder in Hammour’s death, is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday so his case can be assigned to a judge. Police allege that Tellez, known as “Lil Speedy” and “Speedy,” was part of the Santa Ana gang that Rocha associated with.

Prosecutors believe that Rocha was driving Tellez and Hammour in the 2100 block of South Cedar Street in Santa Ana at about 5:30 a.m. Sept. 2, 2013, when they saw a woman identified by authorities only as Elizabeth G. standing on a curb waiting for a friend to pick her up. According to prosecutors, Rocha and Tellez started a conversation with the woman and shot her in the face with a 9mm handgun after she signaled allegiance to a rival gang. The woman survived.

Authorities believe that Tellez then turned the gun on Hammour and shot her twice in the face, killing her.

Prosecutors allege the two men drove to Newport Beach and dumped Hammour’s body near the Newport Bay bridge, where passersby found it at 8:45 a.m.

Tellez, who worked in construction, has convictions dating to 2006, including car theft and possession of a controlled substance.

Since 1995, Rocha has pleaded guilty to charges including possession of a controlled substance, receiving stolen property, second-degree burglary and assault with a deadly weapon or force, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

Hammour, a mother of two, pleaded guilty in 2008 to misdemeanor prostitution and drunk-driving charges. In January 2013, she pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance.

She was identified in 2013 in a federal grand jury indictment against more than 100 members or associates of a prison gang accused of running drugs, ordering beatings and keeping a list of people it wanted killed. According to the indictment, Hammour was part of a crew that distributed methamphetamine and heroin.

Police have said they do not believe her slaying was related to the indictment.